Graven Images

 

“The image is one thing and the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to an image…” ~Elvis Presley, American singer and cultural icon (1935-1977)

We exited the Old City through the Zion Gate. The Church of the Dormition rose up to our right. Its unique circular structure and wide blue dome is hard to miss. The church commemorates the “falling asleep” of Mary, the mother of Jesus, before she was summoned to heaven for eternity, according to the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition.

The structure was impressive, but not our reason for coming to the top of Mount Zion. We were on our way to see David’s tomb, which is also the site of Cenacle, believed to be the location of the Last Supper.

The walkway was flanked by high stone walls. Near the entrance to the tomb we passed a large, bronze-colored statue of King David.

He was seated on a cloth-covered pedestal and was appropriately depicted holding a huge harp to his right side with both hands. The statue was also impressive, but our tour group rushed by, anxious to see the famous room of Christ’s last meal.

Forty-five minutes later, having visited “the room” and having stood in front of the purple, velvet-draped coffin, we were headed back along the same walkway.  The Statue of David loomed up to our left. This time we stopped to admire it.

The statue had been donated about three years earlier, by a Russian Christian, Andrei Bykov. It was intended as a gift to the Holy City. At Bykov’s request, his statue was located near the entrance to the site of the legendary king’s tomb, on Mount Zion.

The figure’s bearing was regal. He wore a crown and had a sculpted beard. The image was more like a Greek God than a Hebrew Monarch.

What was disturbing was David’s face. The nose of the statue had been broken off. The tour guide explained it had happened less than a month after it had first gone on display. Since that time, whenever it was repaired, within a few weeks it was broken again.

“Who’s doing it?” asked a man with a Bronx accent and wearing a Yankees baseball cap. “Arabs?”

“At first we thought it might be members of one of a couple of Muslim factions within the city,” the guide explained patiently. “But, this didn’t seem to make sense. Placing a statue of King David near the entrance to his tomb seems to make logical sense.” “And it wasn’t in a Muslim area or near a Mosque.”

“Finally, surveillance cameras were set up in hopes of catching some images of who was doing it.”

“Who was doing it?” someone else asked.

“A group of conservative Hebrew students.”

We all looked at each other in amazement. “Why?” someone finally asked. “Wouldn’t they be honored to have a beautiful statue of King David like this near the entrance to his tomb?”

“One would think so,” replied the guide. “except in Exodus it says, ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’ According to their faith tradition, placing a graven image of the greatest Hebrew leader ever, near the entrance of his tomb isn’t a compliment, it amounts to sacrilege – an insult!”

Both the Hebrew and Islamic faith have prohibitions against statues and other such “graven” images. At first blush, this seems extreme in light of our modern culture in which we are deluged with images. To us, “image” is important, or so it seems. The question is: Which image?

One of the most common criticisms of the Barbie doll was that she promoted an unrealistic body image for young women, leading to a risk that girls who attempted to emulate her would become anorexic. Similar concerns have been leveled regarding the body of Lara Croft in the video game, “Tomb Raider.” Movies, the media and advertising all project similar unrealistic images of how we should look, act, and think. One could argue these are all “graven images.”

Where our image comes from is important. Our image of ourselves is often driven by our desires, rather than by who we really are. We try to become what we want to be, or what we think we should be, rather than who God made us to be.

This translates into our relationships as well. We often love people for who we want them to be, trying to “make them over” into what we desire. This image may simply be the distorted reflection of who we think we are or who we desire to be.

Think for example of the tremendous pressure brought to bear on self-image by gangs and cliques. These groups send a very clear message: “Adopt our image or be ostracized.” “Be like us or perish.”

    

Without question, defacing a statue is vandalism; but do we not, in some ways, “de-face” ourselves. By expending our efforts to become a someone or something other than the person God made us to be, we may be vandalizing ourselves.

God made us in His own image. It’s hard to improve on that.

Dear God: Help me to become the person you created me to be.

“Your life is shaped by the end you live for.” ~ Thomas Merton, Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. (1915-1968)

©2012 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

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